Template for brick-faced masonry panel

ABSTRACT

Masonry panels of concrete or other casting material are to be faced with brick, tile, or other blocks of facing material. An elastomeric template is molded with recesses which are defined and separated by upstanding ridges; these ridges form the pattern of the grouting grooves between the bricks of a conventional masonry wall. The ridges are undercut so that the opening of each recess is slightly smaller than the nominal dimensions of each brick, but the bottom surfaces of the recesses are the same size or larger than the nominal dimensions of the brick. A series of bricks are seated in these recesses, the template being placed in a mold. A panel of reinforced concrete or other casting material is poured over the template and cured to bond the rear surfaces of the bricks to the panel. The template is subsequently removed. The resulting brick-faced panel is a close replica in appearance to a conventional masonry wall. The configuration and dimensioning of the template ridges prevents flow of the casting material onto the front faces of the bricks, which would ruin the panels, and also accommodates normally wide tolerance variations of the bricks from nominal dimensions.

Elmited Mates Patent [72] Inventor Jaime lragorri Chelmsford, Mass.

211 Appl. No. 813,821

[22] Filed Apr. 7, 1969 [45] Patented Aug. 31, 1971 73] Assignee San-VelConcrete Corporation Llttleton, Mass.

[54] TEMPLATE FOR BRlCK-FACED MASONRY PANEL 8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 249/96,

[51] 1nt.Cl E04g 11/06 [50] Field of Search 249/l5,96, 91,83,205;25/l23, 1 F, 131

Primary Examiner-Donald R. Schran Attorney-Rich & Ericson ABSTRACT:Masonry panels of concrete or other casting material are to be facedwith brick, tile, or other blocks of facing materialQAn elastomerictemplate is molded with recesses which are defined and separated byupstanding ridges; these ridges form the pattern of the grouting groovesbetween the bricks of a conventional masonry wall. The ridges areundercut so that the opening of each recess is slightly smaller than thenominal dimensions of each brick, but the bottom surfaces of therecesses are the same size or larger than the nominal dimensions of thebrick. A series of bricks are seated in these recesses, the templatebeing placed in a mold. A panel of reinforced concrete or other castingmaterial is poured over the template and cured to bond the rear surfacesof the bricks to the panel. The template is subsequently removed. Theresulting brick-faced panel is a close replica in appearance to aconventional masonry wall. The configuration and dimensioning of thetemplate ridges prevents flow of the casting material onto the frontfaces of the bricks, which would ruin the panels, and also accommodatesnormally wide tolerance variations of the bricks from nominaldimensions.

PATENTED AUB31 ISYl SHEET 1 [1F 2 IBIJVENTOR.

JAIME IRAGORRI m WM 2W ATTORNEYS PATENTED AUGSI I87! 3,602,476

SHEET 2 [1F 2 4o ,l I, WWSWWQJ My V v 23 FIG. 4

I INVENTOR. JAIME IRAGORRI ATTORNEYS TEMPLATE FOR BRICK-FACED MASONRYPANEL BACKGROUND AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The laying ofbricks one course at a time is a time-consuming and expensive method ofconstruction. Attempts have been made to produce a satisfactorysimulation by laying bricks in a template and pouring a concrete panelas a backing for the bricks. A method previously attempted involved theuse of a template made up of strips of rectangular cross sections,forming a series of recesses each having the nominal dimensions of abrick. The template took the form of the grouting pattern that normallyappears in the face of a conventional brick wall. THe process did notprove commercially satisfactory. Panels made in this fashioncharacteristically suffer from the flow of concrete around the bricks,into the recesses of the template, and onto the faces of the bricks,which spoils the appearance of the panel and therefore renders itpractically unusable. This problem is aggravated by the necessity totamp or vibrate the concreteprior to curing; the bricks tend to jumpfrom the recesses. Furthermore, the rigidity of materials previouslyused in the templates and the necessity to size the recesses uniformly,coupled with the normal variation of bricks from nominal dimensions,prevents uniform engagement of the bricks in the recesses. Commerciallyproduced bricks and tiles have a tolerance of at least i k inch fromnominal dimensions.

It is the primary object of my invention to provide an improvedbrick-faced masonry panel and a method of manufacture thereof whichgreatly reduces the cost of these panels as compared with conventionalmethods of construction, yet produces a panel of high quality andstrength with a uniformly attractive appearance and no concrete leakageonto the brick faces. Further objects and advantages of the inventionwill appear as the following description proceeds.

According to the present invention, 1 form a template from rubber orother elastomeric material. The template has undercut ridges surroundingand dividing the brick-receiving recesses. These recesses have openingsslightly smaller in size than the nominal dimensions of the bricks to beused. The walls of opposed ridges in each recess are inclined away fromone another from the opening toward the bottom of the recess, andpreferably attain at least the nominal dimensions of the bricks at theirbottoms. Consequently, any brick that falls within the normal tolerancelimits will cause more or less compression of the ridges near theopening, and will consequently form a tight seal around the periphery ofthe brick. This holds the brick firmly in place when tamping orvibrating the concrete which is later poured, and prevents leakage ontothe brick face at the bottom of the recess.

Having filled the recess of the template with bricks, and seated thetemplate in a mold, I pour a panel of concrete or other castingmaterial, which may be reinforced in a conventional manner by steel meshor rods. After curing, the tem-.

plate and mold are removed and the brick-faced panel is ready for use. Ihave found that extremely large panels may be made in this way, up to atleast by 40 feet in size, and that these panels fully satisfy A.S.T.M.standards for outdoor construction use. The panels have a uniformlyattractive appearance with no grout leaks on the exposed brick faces.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view inend elevation I showing the use of the template in the casing of amasonry panel; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a completed masonry panel. I

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, I first assemble a mold which includes a topplate 24 and a series of caps 16 and 17 which have frustoconicallocating pins 18 and are preferably made of aluminum. These pins arereceived in recesses 27 formed in the top plate to position the caps inlateral and longitudinal rows, and in spaced-apart relation as shown.The caps have trapezoidal cross sections so that their longitudinaledges 20 are inclined toward one another from the base of each captoward its upper portion. The lateral edges of the caps are similarlyinclined. v p

A sandblasted steel backing plate 28 is inserted in a molding press (notshown) in spaced relation to the top plate 24 and the caps 16 and 17.Gum rubber or other uncured elastomeric material is then injected underpressure into the mold, which is then pressed and heated as required tocure and harden the rubber material to form a template 10.

The template is formed with a series of recesses 23, 25 which areseparated by longitudinal ridges l4 andinterconnecting lateral ridges15, the latter being staggered like the grouting in courses of brick.These ridges are undercut as a result of the form of the caps 16 and 17,with the opposed peripheral walls 22 of each recess inclined away fromone another toward the flat bottom surface of the recess. The dimensionsof the bottom surface of the recess are preferably at least equal to thenominal face dimensions of the selected bricks, and may have the nominaldimensions plus the brick tolerance. The top opening 19 of each recess23 is slightly smaller than the nominal dimensions. This insures that abrick of even the minimum size, when placed in the recess, willinterfere with the ridges at the opening, so that the template will forma secure liquid seal completely around the edges of the brick. Theopenings 19 preferably have the nominal brick dimensions less thetolerance. For example, if brick 2% by 8 inches are used, having atolerance of 1% inch the dimensions of the bottom of the recess may be2154 by 8% inches, while the opening 19 are 2% by 7 /8 inches. Theridges may be 3&- inch thick at the level of the openings 19, and74-inch thick where they join the bottoms of the recesses.

The top plate 24 is provided with a network of grooves 26 runningbetween the caps 16, l7.so that the top surface of each ridge 14, 15will have a convexly rounded form as shown, for the purpose ofsimulating grouting grooves between bricks.

At the lateral edges of the template, a ridge 12 is formed which has theform of half of a ridge 14 divided on a vertical plane of symmetry. Asuitable mold part (not shown) forms the vertical edge. The longitudinalends of the template are provided with similar half ridges 13, but onlyat the ends of those alternate recesses 23 which are the size of acomplete brick. To conform to the staggered pattern in which bricks areconventionally laid, half-recesses 25 are formed in alternate courses ofthe template by suitably abbreviated caps 17. The bottom surfaces ofthese recesses intersect the longitudinal ends. This variation providesfor joints between separately cast masonry panels which will form asmooth transition, not revealing the presence of the joint to casualobservation.

The longitudinal and lateral edges of the template are molded with adepending apron 30. The plate 28 is bonded to the rear face of thetemplate 10 in the curing process, and the apron 30 encloses and sealsthe edges of this plate.

After curing is completed, the plate 24 and the caps 16, 17 are strippedfrom the template. The finished template is shown in FIG. 3, one cornerbeing stripped away from the backing plate 28 to more clearly illustratethe construction.

One or more of the templates 10 are secured to a flat bed (not shown),whose edges and ends are enclosed by a suitable framework of steelchannels 38 having a depth sufficient for casting a masonary panel 40 ofany desired thickness. A series of bricks, tiles, stone slabs or otherselected blocks are then inserted in the recesses 23, 25, as shown inFIGS. 3 and 4. rdinarily, it is desired to cast relatively large panels,typically on the order by 40 feet, and a numbe'r of the templates 10 arebutted together. The half-recesses 25 are aligned longitudinally withmating-half recesses in an adjacent template, for receiving bricks ofstandard size in overlapping relation to the abutting templates. Thehalf-ridges 12 and 13 abut mating half-ridges in adjoining templates toform a full ridge of the standard thickness, except at the edges of theentire panel which is to be cast. After the complete series of templateshas been butted and leveled properly, the bricks 34 are inserted inplace by hand, or with the help of jigs or placing machines.

Commercially produced bricks have a tolerance of at least i /a inch. Abrick of the minimum size within the tolerance range will be slightlysmaller than the width or length of the bottoms of the recesses 23, 25,but will nevertheless fit tightly into the openings at the tops of theridges, since the dimensions of the openings are made equal to thenominal size minus the maximum tolerance. A brick which is oversizedwill fit tightly at the bottom as well as the top of the recess,compressing the adjacent ridges 14 to some extent.

It is preferred, in making panels of substantial size, to providesteel-reinforcing rods or mesh 36, and this is next laid within theframe 38. Finally, the concrete or other casting material 40 is poured,tamped or vibrated and cured for a suitable time.

After curing, the panel 40 with the bricks 34 bonded thereto is removedfrom the frame 38 and the template If). The completed panel is shown inFIG. 5. Because of the rounded form of the top surfaces of the ridges12, l3, l4, and 15, concave grooves 42 and 44 appear between the bricks,simulating the grouting grooves which appear in conventional brickconstruction. At the longitudinal and lateral edges of the panel,half-grooves 43 and 45 appear, the latter occurring only at the ends ofalternate, full bricks. Upon assembling the panel with other panels toform a building wall, these half-grooves mate with similar half-groovesof the abutting panels to conceal the joints. Half-bricks 35 are used inalternate courses only at the ends of the panel, to mate with adjoininghalf-bricks of an adjacent panel. 7

The primary advantage of my improved panel and method of construction isthat the faces of the bricks are uniformly clean and free of cement,which is prevented from leaking onto the faces by the compression fitbetween the bricks and the undersized recesses. The elastomeric templatealso makes it practical to use bricks which vary considerably in sizefrom nominal dimensions, such as are commercially available at minimumcost. 'While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment andmode of practice of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilledin the art that various changes and modifications may be made thereinwithout departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention, whichi intend to define in the appended claims without limitation to thedetails of the foregoing embodiment and mode of practice.

lclaim:

l. A template for use in molding brick-faced masonry panels, saidtemplate being formed of elastomeric material, and having a series ofrecesses molded integrally into one face thereof, each of said recesseshaving a planar bottom surface, said recesses being separated and eachperipherally enclosed by intersecting upstanding ridges which are moldedinto said template with integral joints at their intersections, saidridges extending from bases adjoining said bottom surfaces into apices,each recess forming an opening peripherally bounded by said intersectingridges, each said opening being similar in form to a selected brick buthaving dimensions smaller than the nominal dimensions of the brick,whereby the seating of said brick in one of said recesses results inliquid-sealing engagement of the ridges about the periphery of thebrick.

2. A template as recited in claim 1, in which the dimensions of saidopening of each of said recesses are equal to the nominal dimensions ofthe brick to be seated therein minus a maximum brick tolerance. I

3. A template as recited in claim 1, in which said ridges havedecreasing thickness from said apices to said bases thereof, and saidbottom surfaces have dimensions larger than those of said openings.

4. A template as recited in claim 1, in which the dimensions of saidbottom surface are at least equal to the nominal dimensions of thebrick.

5. A template as recited in claim 4, in which the dimensions of saidbottom surface are equal to the nominal dimensions of the brick plus amaximum brick tolerance.

6. A template is recited in claim 1, in which sidewalls of ridgesopposed within each of said recesses are inclined away from one anotherfrom the apices of said ridges toward said bottom surface.

7. A template as recited in claim 1, in which said ridges are formedwith convexly curved apices.

8. A template as recited in claim 1, together with a rigid backing platebonded to said template on a face thereof 0pposite to said recesses.

1. A template for use in molding brick-faced masonry panels, saidtemplate being formed of elastomeric material, and having a series ofrecesses molded integrally into one face thereof, each of said recesseshaving a planar bottom surface, said recesses being separated and eachperipherally enclosed by intersecting upstanding ridges which are moldedinto said template with integral joints at their intersections, saidridges extending from bases adjoining said bottom surfaces into apices,each recess forming an opening peripherally bounded by said intersectingridges, each said opening being similar in form to a selected brick buthaving dimensions smaller than the nominal dimensions of the brick,whereby the seating of said brick in one of said recesses results inliquid-sealing engagement of the ridges about the periphery of thebrick.
 2. A template as recited in claim 1, in which the dimensions ofsaid opening of each of said recesses are equal to the nominaldimensions of the brick to be seated therein minus a maximum bricktolerance.
 3. A template as recited in claim 1, in which said ridgeshave decreasing thickness from said apices to said bases thereof, andsaid bottom surfaces have dimensions larger than those of said openings.4. A template as recited in claim 1, in which the dimensions of saidbottom surface are at least equal to the nominal dimensions of thebrick.
 5. A template as recited in claim 4, in which the dimensions ofsaid bottom surface are equal to the nominal dimensions of the brickplus a maximum brick tolerance.
 6. A template is recited in claim 1, inwhich sidewalls of ridges opposed within each of said recesses areinclined away from one another from the apices of said ridges towardsaid bottom surface.
 7. A template as recited in claim 1, in which saidridges are formed with convexly curved apices.
 8. A template as recitedin claim 1, together with a rigid backing plate bonded to said templateon a face thereof opposite to said recesses.